Hike Of The Week: Little lakes lure hikers

By KAREN SYKES, SPECIAL TO THE POST-INTELLIGENCER

Published
10:00 pm PST, Wednesday, February 18, 2004

It looked like winter but felt like spring when we visited Pine and Cedar lakes near Bellingham. The sun was warm, but there was a skin of ice on the lakes, and frost sparkled merrily where the sun hadn't reached.

These lakes are a fine destination any time of the year. The trail is user-friendly, can be hiked year-round and provides a scenic setting to stretch your muscles and get some elevation gain in preparation for those summer trails.

The trailhead is well signed and starts off with a steep climb on an abandoned logging road. The trail gains about 1,000 feet in the first mile. A thousand feet may not sound like much to hikers who run Mount Si on a regular basis, but many hikers are like me and need to start now to get in shape for strenuous summer hikes. That 1,000-feet gain comes all at once, and while the second-growth forest is pretty, there is not much to distract you from the uphill grind.

As the trail climbed, I came to a signpost without a sign and decided to stay left on the most obvious path. I soon came to another signpost where the trail levels off on an old railroad grade. This one also was unsigned but had a green ring around it.

If I had not read the hike description or looked at the kiosk at the trailhead, I would not have known which direction to go, but someone has faintly scrawled "Pine and Cedar Lakes" with an arrow pointing left. The trail (right) continues to another trailhead for hikers wanting a longer hike.

The trail remained level, and in less than 1/2 mile I came to a sign for Pine and Cedar lakes, Cedar being the closest. The lakes are only about 1/4-mile apart, but I wanted to hike as far as I could before turning around, so I made Pine Lake my first stop.

After passing the turnoff to Cedar Lake, I soon came to the signed turnoff to Pine Lake. Up to this point the trail had been wide and easy to follow, but as I turned off to Pine Lake, the trail grew narrow, with minor ups and downs. This trail doesn't appear to get as much use as the trail to Cedar Lake, but it is not difficult to follow.

Soon I glimpsed the shimmer of the lake through a fringe of evergreens and speeded up, eager to see it. Reaching the lakeshore, I was surprised to discover that I'd have to "walk the plank" to view the lake.

Lakes are often boggy, and this one was no exception. A narrow boardwalk goes partway around the lake. You can hike in either direction but not all the way around . However, I recommend hiking clockwise, because part of the boardwalk is under water if you go the other way.

At first glance it's a bit disconcerting to a nonswimmer such as myself, but a closer look showed that the water is shallow and there is little risk of mishap. The boardwalk leads to an isthmus on the lake. Here there are rough campsites, make-do lunch spots and quiet little nooks. While camping is allowed at the lakes, fires are not permitted; motorized vehicles also are prohibited from these trails.

After admiring Pine Lake, I hiked back to the Cedar Lake turnoff. As the trail descends to the lake, look left for monolithic boulders scattered through the trees, many with big trees growing out of them -- but alas, too dark for photography.

Cedar Lake also has a boardwalk, but more of the trail is on terra firma and you can walk entirely around the lake. I hiked counterclockwise and found the perfect lunch spot in the sun at the far end of the lake. Here, a bench is positioned in front of a large boulder with a huge Douglas fir growing out of it.

After lunch I continued around the lake and was pleasantly surprised to come across another trail marker tempting me with side trips to other viewpoints -- a view of Bellingham, Mount Baker and Bellingham Bay. Who could resist these temptations on such a nice day?

The trail to the viewpoints is 1/2-mile one way and involves gaining more elevation -- the path is in fair condition though not heavily used. It climbs about 100 feet to the first viewpoint (0.2 mile) where the trees thin out in a level spot with a view of Bellingham. Trees grow quickly here, and the view of Bellingham is shrinking with each passing year.

From here it is another 0.2 miles and another 100 feet of elevation to a rocky outcropping with an unobstructed view of Mount Baker.

Given the time of day, I skipped the last viewpoint and headed back. Strong, experienced hikers may want to save the viewpoint of Mount Baker for their lunch spot if the weather is clear. There is room for several hikers on the outcropping, although it is somewhat precipitous and not recommended for small children.